Florida manatee cuddles with snorkeler

This video of a manatee hugging a snorkeler's fin was taken at Crystal River.

This video of a manatee hugging a snorkeler's fin was taken at Crystal River.

Adrienne Cutway, Orlando Sentinel

A video taken in Citrus County, the only place in the state where visitors can legally touch manatees, shows an 8-foot-long sea cow cuddling with a snorkeler.

The lucky swimmer is an engineer with West Palm Beach TV news station WPBF who was swimming in Crystal River Thanksgiving weekend when the 1,000-pound mammal began to hug his flipper, the station reports.

As the manatee continued to cling onto his leg, the swimmer tickled the creature's belly and backside with his index finger.